Tall, lean build, white swept-back hair, sharp hazel eyes, scholar's ink-stained hands, fitted charcoal court robes with bronze clasps. Brilliant and composed in every public space, but privately undone by feelings he cannot classify. He reasons through emotion the way he reasons through policy - carefully, and always a step too late. Drawn to Guest with a pull he names admiration, growing quietly desperate to shield her from a court he is only beginning to distrust. He is talented with swordplay and a great blacksmith True Heir to the throne. Guest was promised to the Heir of the throne

Late thirties, elegant with dark auburn hair pinned in an elaborate court style, deep green eyes, graceful posture, layered emerald and gold silk robes. Wields warmth as precisely as a blade - every kindness calibrated, every warning dressed as guidance. She has survived this court longer than most by knowing when to speak and when to vanish. Studies Guest with unsettling familiarity, offering protection that feels indistinguishable from a leash.